Jonathon Fretto's portfolio page

This is a template for the ID portfolio page, where you will document your instructional design work in progress during this semester. DO NOT EDIT THIS PAGE. See the video guide on how this project works and how to set up your ID portfolio page: Zoom Video If you need to see examples, see Gërt Arnold Portfolio Page; Sarah Stolberg's Portfolio Page.

Navigation links: ETAP 623 Fall 2024 | Link to my mini-course front page

Unit 1 Mesopotamia

Unit 2 Egypt

Unit 3 Yellow River

Unit 4 Comparative Analysis of the Ancient River Valley Civilizations

About Me

Hi! My name is Jon. I am a current graduate student in the CDIT program at UAlbany. Before this, I graduated Siena in 2021 with both my initial teaching license and a degree in History Education. I now work at Shaker High School in Latham NY. I have worked here since the year I graduated in the Fall of 2021. I started off as a secondary teacher resident which was a hybrid role of a co-teacher, assistant, and solo building sub for the social studies department at the height of COVID. Now, I am a full time teaching assistant running the internal restriction program at the school. My end goal is to pursue a job teaching social studies, which is what my license is in. However, if I am unable to find a job in a district that suits me, I am also interested in potentially pursuing an ENL or Special Education certification beyond my graduate studies.

Personally, I am 26, I have two dogs, two cats and I like playing video games and pop music. That is about all there is to me!

My Topic and Purpose

My mini course is going to be on early river valley civilizations. I chose this as it's the first major unit we cover in Global 9. A lot of times, this unit can be a bit of a drag to get through, as it is so far removed from student's own lives and they don't always find it too interesting. My goal is to use this technology to present the entire unit with perhaps some accompanying assignments to go with it. I think by changing the delivery vehicle for this content I can make the topic more interesting while still hitting all the major content and skill standards required and simultaneously setting up the rest of the year for success.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

(MOD 4) Add text here to analyze what types of knowledge/skills/attitude your mini-course means to develope. (This description will set a general direction and scope for your project. More detailed learning objectives and lesson topics will be defined later as part of Performance-Based Objectives and Task/Content Analysis.)

The general direction is that students will be able to identify key characteristics of the key early river valley civilizations and be able to distinguish between them relatively automatically using the defining traits of the civilizations. I would also like them be able to recognize and make connections between the similarities that each civilization shares and how they pushed human civilization forward in a post-neolithic revolution world.

Needs Assessment

(MOD 5) Report findings from your needs analysis to clarify the gap of knowledge/skills that exists related to your mini-course topic. See the chapter of Shambaugh & Magliaro (1997) Needs Assessment provided in Mod 5. You may use a literature review or/and survey to inform your analysis of the current reality, the "ideal," and the gap in between.

The educational problem or opportunity

The educational opportunity here is to create a better & more intuitive presentation of the Early River Valley Civilizations unit via the online suite KNILT. Oftentimes, this unit can be a bit hard for younger learners to grasp, as it is so far removed from their own understanding of the world around them. Presenting it in a highly organized and strategic way using KNILT alongside impactful visuals and guided texts could be a great way to revamp the way this unit is taught.

The learners/participants involved (be brief here; more detailed analysis to be added in the following section)

This module would be intended for 9th Grade Regents & Honors students. This could be utilized in a CT environment with a mix of regents & special education students as well given the proper resources and support.

Analysis of gaps in term of know vs. need to know (reality vs. ideal)

Students should
- Have a rudimentary understanding of Early River Valley civilizations from 6th grade
- Understand the cause and effect relationship between the neolithic revolution & the development of stationary civilizations.

What students likely know in reality:
- Famous landmarks from the period such as the pyramids in Egypt.

(as we can see, there is a significant gap in previous knowledge that we see when it comes to this unit, which is why it is something I want to address in my mini-course.)

Existing efforts to address this gap

NYS Social Studies 9th grade framework does a decent job trying to tell educators what students should know about this pivotal moment in history, but it often does not give explicit direction on which river valley civilizations are worth covering over others and why.
Teachers have developed units for this topic using textbook resources that often do not engage students or help them understand why they should care about this particular topic, being thousands of years removed from their everyday lives.

Intent statement: how will this mini-course help your participants address their needs?

My intent for this mini-course is to make this topic more engaging, accessible and intuitive in the delivery of content.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

(MOD 5) Write here your more detailed analysis of your learner and the context in which they will learn using this mini-course. Who are the participants (learners)? Prior personal/cultural experiences, knowledge and skills, or interests they have? In what settings will they use this mini-course to learn? How much time will they spend? What resources will they need?

My learners for this course will be 9th grade regents and CT (co-taught) students. These students will have some rudimentary background understanding via their experiences early on in 6th grade covering the same topic but in less depth. In reality, the majority of these students at this content level will not remember much from the beginning of sixth grade which is why I think designing this mini-course as a permanent resource to teach this difficult unit is a perfect match.

I envision this group as typical 9th graders with varied backgrounds, interests etc. I work in a diverse suburban area so I imagine some students will have ancestral or even closer familial ties to some of the areas we will be discussing (Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan, China, etc). It is important to recognize these cultural resources without making assumptions that students will deeply identify or relate to these areas in a historical or modern context. Providing space for them to draw on their cultural assets but not forcing the matter is the key here.

I envision the course as likely a week long effort but it could go longer depending on department norms on which river valley's we are covering and in how much depth for regents/CT students. They will be using the mini-course for in class activity as well as homework reinforcement. Chromebooks will be necessary for assessments and access to the material, but other than that, all resources will be provided within the mini-course.

Performance-Based Objectives

(MOD 6) Define course-level target objective (not the learning units yet). The objectives need to describe what the learner will be able to perform/do as the result of learning with this course. Consider the important learning gains and consider how the participants may demonstrate it or use it to do something authentic. Communicate the objectives using clear, performance-based terms, such as:

After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:

Identify key characteristics and distinguish between the various river valley civilizations based on them
Point out the key geographic features that allowed for these early civilizations to develop and explain why they were necessary to create flourishing societies.
Compare/Contrast key similarities and differences between the various civilizations and explain how those impacted the development of the river valley societies.
Recall the previous unit (Neolithic Revolution) and analyze how the changes brought by that revolution allowed for civilizations to thrive.

Task and Content Analysis

(MOD 7-8) For each course-level target objective, consider 1) what the participants need to know in order to achieve this objective (e.g. the prerequisites that enable or support the objective); 2) what specific learning content and activities may address the prerequisites and target objectives. Then consider how the learning contents and activities will be organized into a process of learning through several learning units (e.g. 3-5). See example Task Analysis).

Before taking this course, the learner:

Must have basic knowledge of geographical features.
Nice to have some knowledge of how to read a map.
Should have some background understanding of the Neolithic Revolution and its impact.

Unit 1

Mesopotamia & the Fertile Crescent

After this unit the learner:

Identify the geographic location and features that make Mesopotamia a unique early civilization
Analyze how geographic features played a role in the development and survival of this civilization
Identify the characteristics of Mesopotamia and align them with the requirements of the label “civilization”.
Analyze the importance of religion in the development of Mesopotamia and its culture.
Recognize the emergence of social hierarchy and be able to place various subgroups within Mesopotamia on that hierarchy.
Classify Mesopotamia in the context of a civilization, understanding the key differences between civilization and lack thereof.

Unit 2

Ancient Egypt & the Nile River

After this unit the learner:

Identify the geographic location and features that make Egypt a unique early civilization
Analyze how geographic features played a role in the development and survival of this civilization
Identify the characteristics of Egypt and align them with the requirements of the label “civilization”.
Analyze the importance of religion in the development of Egypt and its culture.
Recognize the emergence of social hierarchy and be able to place various subgroups within Egypt on that hierarchy.
Classify Egypt in the context of a civilization, understanding the key differences between civilization and lack thereof.
Differentiate between Egypt and the previously studied Mesopotamia on the basis of key differences in civilization development and structure.

Unit 3

The Yellow River Valley & Ancient China

After this unit the learner:

Identify the geographic location and features that make Ancient China a unique early civilization
Analyze how geographic features played a role in the development and survival of this civilization
Identify the characteristics of Ancient China and align them with the requirements of the label “civilization”.
Analyze the importance of religion in the development of Ancient China and its culture.
Recognize the emergence of social hierarchy and be able to place various subgroups within Ancient China on that hierarchy.
Classify Ancient China in the context of a civilization, understanding the key differences between civilization and lack thereof.
Differentiate between Ancient China and the previously studied Mesopotamia & Egypt on the basis of key differences in civilization development and structure.

Unit 4

Comparing & Contrasting the River Valley Civilizations (Summative Unit)

After this unit the learner:

Evaluate the components of a developed civilization and fit each of our studied civilizations into that context.
Compare the similarities that make up each of the studied civilizations and how those similarities manifest in a thriving society.
Contrast between the civilizations and their major differences and illustrate how those differences had an impact on the development and survival of each civilization.
Recall the prior knowledge of what life was like before the dawn of civilization and determine how each of these civilizations differ from early paleolithic peoples.

Curriculum Map

References and Resources

Sources embedded in curriculum
Photos belong to their source of origin unless otherwise specified.